Electronic communication of information has become commonplace. Today, information, including sensitive information, regarding individuals, businesses, and other entities, can be communicated electronically between devices. For example, computers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), smart cards, and other electronic devices can be utilized to electronically communicate information between users. Further, devices, like smart cards, can be utilized to provide a digital signature or other authentication information that can reasonably identify the user of the smart card and can provide certain information regarding the user and/or can enable the user to sign electronic documents (e.g. legal documents) in a secure manner.
With regard to the electronic communication of sensitive information, encryption/decryption techniques can be utilized to protect such information from being accessed by undesired persons (e.g., attackers, hackers). For example, a public key-private key can be utilized to secure information electronically communicated between devices, where the intended recipient of the information can utilize a private key to facilitate decrypting the received information so that it can be perceived in a usable form. However, such undesired persons can be persistent in attempting to discover ways to overcome or bypass measures taken to secure data (e.g., encryption/decryption techniques). For example, attackers can attempt to collect side channel information (e.g., power consumption information, fault information, electromagnetic information) associated with a device when it is encrypting/decrypting information in order to learn the private key or other security measures utilized to secure the information. When such undesired persons gain unauthorized and undesired access to the information of a user, it can result in financial hardship, emotional hardship, and/or other harm to the user.
It is therefore desirable to maintain the security of information communicated electronically. Further, while countermeasures can be employed to minimize the risk of unauthorized access to information, it is desirable that such countermeasures be manageable on electronic devices, including portable electronic devices (e.g., cellular phones, smart cards).